Crackdown on US nuns continues under Pope Francis

NEW YORK (AP) — The Vatican is sending its clearest signal under Pope Francis that it will press forward with a crackdown on the largest umbrella group for U.S. nuns.

The head of the Vatican agency in charge of the overhaul is rejecting the sisters' objections and telling them they must do more to cooperate.

Cardinal Gerhard Mueller made the comments in a Rome meeting with the top executives of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. The Vatican posted the remarks online Monday.

The reform order was issued in 2012 under now retired Pope Benedict XVI, after an investigation concluded the nuns' group undermined church teaching and focused too much on social justice. As Francis has said the church should focus more on social justice, some have expected a new approach to the nuns.